Roy Keane has exposed the problem with keeping Ruud van Nistelrooy at Man United

There was no doubting Ruud van Nistelrooy's passion for Manchester United since he became interim manager at Old Trafford last Monday.

In two matches at the Theatre of Dreams, Van Nistelrooy kicked every ball and wore his heart firmly on his sleeve as the Reds secured a safe passage to the Carabao Cup quarter-finals and a 1-1 draw with Chelsea. It is no secret that the Dutchman would like to remain at Old Trafford beyond this week even though he was appointed on the recommendation of Erik ten Hag, even if that means moving away from his assistant head coach role.

The players want him to stay too, if Sky Sports' report on Monday is to be believed, as they like how he communicates with them. Van Nistelrooy certainly did not hang his players out to dry in his post-match interview either describing the players as a 'good group' which clearly irked Roy Keane.

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"Don't worry about the result then because he said they were good lads? That's key," Keane replied sarcastically. "Oh they are great lads, we don't have to worry about football results then. I would rather work with bad lads who put a shift in.

"I know it is an awkward question for him, he is not going to say they aren't good guys. What is a good group?"

It was trademark stuff from Keane after yet another underwhelming display by United which some could pass off as 'Roy being Roy,' but it is evidence of an underlying problem with keeping Van Nistelrooy at the club post-Amorim appointment. Unfortunately, while he is a club icon he is also potentially blinded to the problems this set of players have.

The reason Ineos sacked Ten Hag was because they felt fresh ideas needed to be implemented and, in fairness, that looks set to be coming with Amorim and his coaching staff. But where exactly does Van Nistelrooy fit into that model?

Amorim does not need another person in the coaching room to tell him about the dynamics of this team. Ultimately, every single player in that dressing room has to be held responsible for Ten Hag's departure and completely fresh eyes to analyse which players are underperforming and which are simply not good enough, is needed.

Undoubtedly Amorim will lean on the likes of Bruno Fernandes and Manuel Ugarte, who he has worked with before, to give an insight into this team. Is Van Nistelrooy also needed in an advisory role? Perhaps not.

It would be a shame to see Van Nistelrooy go especially as he is a bright young coach but now that Amorim has been chosen to implement his style on United, he just does not fit. Could the United squad want him to stay to fight their battles for them? Potentially, but that is simply not reason enough to keep him around.